Shannon Tanner's Most Excellent Pirate Adventure

Gracyn's favorite day of the trip was by far our pirate adventure morning. We went on a pirate expedition with Shannon Tanner, our favorite local family entertainer. He has an amazing day set up for the kids. They are all outfitted with pirate rags, eye patches and nerf swords and he tells them the story of his rival pirate "Slimey Slim" who stole his treasure years ago. The boat sets off and once out at sea, we encounter "Slimey Slim" the scurvy pirate as Gracyn called him. The kids are ready and armed with water cannons. They pound the ememy pirate with water guns until he agrees to give Captain Tanner his treasure back. Captain Tanner then generously shares his loot with all his little helpers. Once we are back to dock, one more enemy pirate appears and the kids defend him with thier nerf swords until he gives up and awards them all with chocolate coins. We are big fans of Jake and the Neverland Pirates around here, so a morning of pretend pirates was perfect for my crew.

Gracie the Great Pirate....her given pirate name for the day.

Rip-Roarin'-Reagan

 3 Pirates ready to board ship.

 Daddy and his pirate pals at sea

 Here comes the enemy, Slimey Slim

 2 girls checking out their pirate booty

 Gracyn getting her share of the loot

 One final enemy pirate to conquer at the end of the day.

Kayak Adventures

What do you do when you wake up at the beach and the skies are dark and threatening, with a high chance of rain for the day? We headed to our favorite local pancake house, to by some time and assess the weather, and then....we went kayaking! The rain poured down on us as we drove to Broad Creek where we would get into our boats. By the time we loaded into our kayaks the sun was certainly not shining (which turned out nice, because it kept us cool) but the rain had stopped. Reagan and I loaded in one kayak. She proved to be a decent paddler. Tommy and Addison loaded another boat, with Gracyn sitting in a small seat in between them. She had no oar, but they did give her a net to drag around the water (read: slow Daddy's boat down).

This turned out to be one of my most favorite things we have done in Hilton Head. Broad Creeek feeds into the ocean and houses the harbor that many boats come in and out of. It changes about 6 feet in depth twice each day, as the tide comes in and out. The tide was out while we were in the water, which leaves huge oyster beds exposed along all the sides. We had a great guide who told us all about the area and the ocean life in the creek. Dolphins were everywhere. The jumped in and out of the water all morning. Twice, Reagan and I had dolphins so close to our boat, we could have touched them. Addison, Reagan and I were in complete awe.

Gracyn was another story. She decided about 30 minutes into the 2 hours ride that she wanted in my boat. There was no way to transfer her, so she was pretty much miserable for most of the morning. She ended up in Tommy's lap and he got quite the workout paddling around that way. The dark skies held until our last 10 minutes out in the water. The skies turned suddenly black and thunder began rumbling in the distance. We BOOKED those boats back to the dock just in time! It was a great adventure and one I will most certainly do again if we go back.

Hilton Head Island 2012

Last Saturday at 4:00pm, after 12 hours in the car, we arrived in one of my favorite places on earth. We discovered Hilton Head Island  last summer, after researching beach trips in driving distance from Cincinnati. Being an avid Nicholas Sparks reader and loving all things southern, I have always been drawn to the Carolinas and Hilton Head is a common destination for Ohio residents. I asked around, got some recommendations for resorts and booked our first trip last summer. I was in love immediately and would be happy to spend a week there every summer (or more) for the rest of my life! Our second trip led us back to revisit some of last years favorite activities, while also discovering a handful of new adventures. The kids are as hooked as I am. They were  planning next year before we ever left. Tommy loves it as well, though he likes to explore new places and is pushing to head to Florida's white sand beaches and clear water next year. We will see what happens?

The drive to Hilton Head is as good as any 12 hour drive can be. It is long and tiring, but it is a beautiful drive. We drive through rolling hills and rich green forests throughout Ohio and Kentucky and then into the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Because we leave in the wee hours of morning....this time at 4am, we are usually arriving in Tennessee as the sun comes up. The fog collects over the mountains, leaving no question why they are called the Smoky Mountains. Next up comes North Carolina and South Carolina. They are just as green, but begin to be dotted with palm trees. We time our drives to hit lunch at Zaxby's, a favorite chicken restaurant that we don't have in Ohio. The girls sleep a good part of the morning and are excited for the beach when they wake, so the ride there usually goes quickly. We did have a small crisis in the morning, as Gracyn woke in her carseat and told me she had gone potty! This was only the 2nd potty accident the poor girl has had since we took her out of diapers nearly a year ago. Not the best timing. We found ourselves at a gas station at 7:30am digging clean clothes out of the back and covering her carseat with a beach towel.

In other bad news, we left the house with 2 kids on antibiotics for strep and all 3 running a fever. Gracyn's fever had just started as I tucked her in bed Friday night, so we left not knowing if she had aquired her sisters' strep. Gracyn's fever was thankfully only the one night. The other two seemed to have a virus in addition to strep, because they ran fever and had headaches for several days, even after their antibiotics. Thankfully, we would give them Motrin and they would bounce back and be fine for the next 6 hours. They definitely weren't 100% our first few days of vacation but it didn't slow us down much.

We pulled into our condo late in the afternoon, made quick work of unpacking the car and were on the beach within the hour. Gracyn jumped around in the waves, Reagan dug in the muddy sand and Addison had a star fish in her hands within seconds. Mommy and Daddy took it all in, breathed the refreshing salt air, relaxed in the breeze and settled in for an amazing week!

School's Out for Summer

It's been no mystery around this house, who is most excited for summer. The girls were ready to be out, but Mama has been on the countdown for quite some time! No more alarm clock, no more schedules, no more lunch packing, and best of all no more putting my oldest on a bus and having her gone all day! I love summer! Last year, I feel like the pay-off began for all the sleepless nights and diapers. The girls were old enough for some serious summer fun! June through August is filled with pool time, King's Island, parks and the zoo. We read books, play games and just hang out together. They are my little buddies and I cherish the luxury of free time with them.

Here's my girl heading off to her last day of first grade.She had no idea, but we had a little surprise summer fun party planned for after school. Several neighborhood friends were meeting at our house. The Bowles family headed over early, so Chloe could be surprised and get off the bus at our stop. The Leslies and the Janzens were ready to party and The Bullocks drove over to join us. We met the crew at the bus stop and attacked them with Silly String as they got off. Then, we headed back to the house and this big bucket of water balloons. Reagan, Gracyn and I had quite an assembly line going earlier in the afternoon to get those things filled. Poor Reagan, she put in the work, but since she had Strep, she actually had to hide out in my room watching a movie during the actual party. I was so sad for her, but I saved some water balloons for another day.

This girl is smiling because she is packing Silly String behind her back.

Sweet Freedom!!!

Inside the house I had a big build-your-own-sundae bar. We had waffle bowls, ice-cream and every topping you could imagine. This half of the crew was elbow deep in giant bowls of sugar before the rest of our guests arrived.

More Water Balloons. Knowing the work that went in to filling them, it hurt a little watching how quickly they went through them all.

Poor Daron. There are boys in the neighborhood, but in this age bracket he is the only one. He often finds himself playing among large crowds of girls. He is a good sport about it. Looks like he is enjoying it here!

What a great kick-off we had to summer! Looking forward to carefree, fun days ahead.

End of the Year Picnic

Weeks ago, during the last few days of school, Addison's class had an end-of-year picnic. They are usually very strict about siblings at parties, but this time the whole family was invited. They had pizza for the students and they played outside on the playground.The best part of the party was the Kona Ice Truck. How cool is this thing? It is a traveling snow cone truck that you can rent for parties. They give the kids leis and their cup of ice and then they go to a flavor station on the side of the truck and make their snow cones. All the while, festive music plays from the truck. It is actually a franchise, though the owner said there were only a few in the country so far.  Little sisters were happy to be included.

 Addison and Chloe posing for a quick picture! So thankful to have been in class with this sweet girl.

Little Gymers

All 3 of my girls have enjoyed classes at Little Gym for the past year. A few weeks back, they had their "Show Day". We got to watch as they showed off all the skills they learned and have a little fun together in the gym. At the end they received a medal for their hard work.

Reagan is strong and determined. She is moving up to a class for older kids this summer and she is more than ready. She practices cartwheels and headstands everyday. Addison is also really strong. She can do pull-ups from the high bar and has a perfect cartwheel. She stretches at home everyday, determined to some day be able to do the splits.

Gracyn's class is 30 minutes of dance and then 30 minutes of gymnastics. She is by far the youngest of the class, and she is not always exactly on-task. Show day was no different. There were times during her dance routine that she followed right along doing what the teacher said and other times she chose something a little more "free-style!". Her sisters were beside themselves as they watched. They couldn't hardly stand it when she wasn't following directions, so they shouted from the side to try to get her attention. Oh well, correct moves or not, she is cute as can be!

Home

Just returning home from a week on Hilton Head Island. We had a great week of sand and sun, now we are in recovery mode! I have lots to catch up on, blog included.

Reagan graduated from preschool! She has grown and matured so much this year, she is more than ready to take on the big world of kindergarten next year. Miss Julie and Miss Dana were precious teachers and I can't say enough good things about the staff and program at her preschool. Thankfully Gracyn begins her journey there next year, as I am not ready to say good-bye.

They end the year with a show of all the chapel songs and bible verses hey have learned throughout the year. The show is not rehearsed. It is just the kids up on the stage, doing the songs and bible words that they do every Friday in chapel.

 Little Sister has been to chapel enough times that she can sing all the songs along with them.

 Later we had lunch and then headed back to the rooms for graduation. The kids came in two by two and Reagan was paired with Charlie. These two have been best buds since day 1. They are precious together.

Miss Julie and Miss Dana chose awards for each child. Reagan was awarded the "Teacher's Helper" Award. They said she was the girl they could depend on. The one who always knew where everyone was and what was going on. She said she was their schedule keeper and she kept the class on track. They said they would expect her to grow up to be a teacher, unless she was a famous singer, of course. Apparently she sings her way around school, just like she does at home.



 Thankful for this sweet class and the friendships we made this year.

 Thankful for their encouragement and love for Reagan this year.

 So glad Grandma and Grandpa got to see the show.

 I can't believe this girl is headed off to big school next year. She's ready....Mama's not.

 Flowers from Daddy.

 Poor Daddy is still brand new at MARS, so he missed all the fun, but we ordered a DVD of the show and Reagan found flowers and a balloon waiting for her when she came home.

Field Day

We stopped buy Addison's field day with Grandma and Grandpa to say a quick hi! She was hot, sweaty and soaking wet, but having a blast. These three girls, have become such sweet friends throughout the year. Field day was no exception. I found them side by side playing games and enjoying each other.